Reverse Reverse Trap?
by KawaiiBoushi
Summary: "Sempai, you could never pass for a girl." Challenge ACCEPTED! Can Tamaki fool the student body into believing he's a girl for a whole week? Are gender-swapping antics the only way to get two star-crossed cross-dressers to realize their feelings for each other? Only one way to find out... T for suggestive scenarios and mild language.
1. Operation: Make Tamaki Look Stupid

Nothing is more dangerous than bored twins.

It was a hot, lazy summer day, and Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin were sprawled out on their bed, positively bored to tears.

"What do you want to do, Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, too lazy to even turn his head to look at his brother.

"I dunno…what do you wanna do, Hikaru?" Kaoru rolled over so he was laying on his stomach, facing Hikaru.

"I dunno…"

They stared at each other for a few moments.

"Wanna make Milord do something stupid?" they said at the same time, and their faces split into identical evil grins. "Great idea."

…

Five phone calls and half an hour later, the Hitachiins had gotten the rest of the Host Club to join them for ice cream a commoner's ice cream parlor. As they sat around chatting, Hikaru began Phase One of Operation: Make Tamaki Look Stupid.

"You know, Haruhi," Hikaru began, "if you don't start, ah, _growing_ soon, no one's going to believe you if you ever come out as a girl."

Tamaki choked on his ice cream and began sputtering incoherently. Haruhi sighed and thumped him on the back while saying to Hikaru, "Did you guys invite me out just to insult my femininity?"

Before either twin could respond, Tamaki, face flushed from anger and lack of oxygen, stood up, thrust his spoon at Hikaru and yelled, "What did you just say about my little girl? Take it back!"

"Hey, sorry Milord, but it's the truth. Haruhi makes a great guy," Kaoru added, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Haruhi could go back to being a girl anytime she wants! It's not easy for her, having to hide her feminine charm every day at school!" Tamaki cried, glancing at his daughter to see if his words had any effect on her. Haruhi, however, was seemingly deep in conversation with Kyoya, smiling a little at something he'd said.

"You're right, Milord," Hikaru said complacently, inwardly fistpumping. Tamaki was taking the bait hook, line, and sinker. "I can only imagine how hard Haruhi has it."

"Yeah, she's got skills all right," Kaoru agreed, trying not to roll his eyes. "But don't go acting like you feel Haruhi's pain, Milord, you could never pull that off."

"What, pretending to be a guy?" Tamaki asked, blinking his puppy-dog eyes cluelessly.

"No, Milord," Hikaru and Kaoru sighed in unison. "Hiding your gender. In your case, pretending to be a girl."

Tamaki laughed. "Sure I could! Remember when we dressed up as girls when the Zuka Club was trying to steal Haruhi?"

Hikaru shook his head. "Not like that, Milord. For real. Say…the first week of school."

"Yeah, we bet there's no way you could fool the entire school for a whole week."

Tamaki raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?"

Suddenly interested in the conversation, Kyoya pulled an envelope he kept in a hidden pocket, along with his notebook, just in case a situation like this arose. Always be prepared; that was his motto. "Because the prize for the winner of the bet is a selection of Haruhi's baby pictures," he told them, glasses glinting, ignoring Haruhi's protests. He had the attention of all three boys now. "But for a prize this valuable, we should up the ante. Say…Tamaki has to get someone to kiss him."

"What? No w –" Tamaki broke off, enthralled, as Kyoya began to wave the unassuming envelope enticingly under his nose. His head bobbed back and forth, tracking its progress like a snake watching its charmer. "Okay, okay, fine! But with stakes this high, you doppelgangers have to promise not to interfere!"

"Cross our hearts," the twins said solemnly, nodding and tracing X marks over each other's chests with their fingers.

"Now that that's settled," Kyoya said, slipping the envelope back into his secret pocket, "I actually have other business to attend to. I'll see you all at school." He got up and went to the counter to pay, and the rest of the hosts, having all finished their ice cream by now (even Hunny, who had gotten five times as much as anyone else), followed suit.

"Sempai," Haruhi said to Tamaki as they were paying for their ice cream, "there's no way you could pass for a girl. I hate to say it, but I don't think you're going to win this bet."

"Why not? Is it my overwhelming manliness?"

"Uh, no, it's the fact you can't go five minutes without trying to charm any girl that gets in your way."

"Thank you for the ice cream, princess," Tamaki was saying to the young woman behind the counter, handing her a rose along with his money. As she giggled and blushed, Tamaki turned to Haruhi. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said defensively.

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Right. Good luck with that," she said, waving to the hosts as she hopped on her bike and headed home.

After that day at the ice cream parlor, it wasn't until the start of the new semester that anyone saw Tamaki again, and only a select few realized it was Tamaki they were seeing…but how long would that last?

**A/N: Oh well hi there! Thanks for stopping by. ^.^ I started writing this story back in May, around when I finished Ghost Club, but I'm only now publishing it because I'm a terrible awful person ;_; I'm sorry! Please accept my offering of a cross-dressing misadventure, almost like something out of an anime! Let me know what you think so far with that handy review button down yonder!**


	2. A Blooming Maiden

When Tamaki got home from the commoner's ice cream parlor, he suddenly realized what he'd just agreed to. "It's going to take every ounce of my amazing talent to pull this off," he muttered to himself. At a snap of his fingers, half a dozen servants immediately appeared.

"Yes, Master Tamaki?" a young maid asked.

"I'm going to need all the female servants to help me with something," he told her, briefly explaining what he needed them for.

"Of course, Master Tamaki," she said, nodding. As used to Tamaki's antics as they all were, no one thought twice about it when he gathered all of the women who worked in Suoh Mansion #2 together and said he needed them to teach him how to be a girl.

"I only have two weeks to get ready, so all of you, please do your best to help me master the art of being a lady," Tamaki said seriously.

His first lesson was how he held himself. In his free time, he practiced walking like a proper lady, and could often be seen wandering the halls of the mansion with a pile of books on his head – or, more often than not, a pile of books on his feet and a string of un-lady-like profanities threatening to spill out of his mouth. But after much practice and research (the maids tried to ignore Tamaki and not feel creeped out when he would follow them around as they went about their business, observing the way they walked and stood), he got it down.

A week into his preparations, the custom-made corset Tamaki had ordered arrived. It was specifically tailored to give him a womanly silhouette, with built-in "enhancements." What he had forgotten, however, was that his father was coming to Suoh Mansion #2 for a visit that day. Tamaki was in his room trying on the corset when his father walked in.

"Tamaki, are you –" he stopped short when he saw his son standing there suffocating as two maids pulled the laces tight to give him a perfect 36-24-36. Everyone froze, Tamaki and the maids turning a dark shade of red. Tamaki stared at his father like a deer caught in the headlights, and Yuzuru stared back, his face indecipherable. After a few awkward moments, Yuzuru found his voice again. "Well, as I was saying, whenever you're ready we can head out to dinner, and if there's anything you'd like to tell me…"

"Wait, I can explain!" Tamaki cried as his father turned and left. He ran after Yuzuru, corset untied and dangling off his body haphazardly, and nearly crashed into his father right outside the door. Yuzuru was doubled over with laughter, leaning against the wall.

"It's not what it looks like," Tamaki began.

"I see, so you're not wearing a corset that seems to be turning you into a woman?"

"…Okay, so it's exactly what it looks like," Tamaki admitted. "But it's – I – Hikaru and Kaoru bet me Kyoya's pictures of Haruhi that I couldn't fool the school into believing I was a girl," he said, flustered. "And so…I guess I'm going all out…"

"As long as you're not _coming_ out," Yuzuru said, chuckling at his own cleverness. Then something crossed his mind. "Are you…?"

"What? No!"

Yuzuru held up his hands defensively. "Just asking," he said, raising an eyebrow at Tamaki's fake chest. "You know I'd still love you…"

"Dad!"

"Okay, okay! Now, go get dressed for dinner."

When Tamaki had calmed down and gotten the chance to fully explain the situation, Yuzuru was roaring with laughter again, drawing curious stares from everyone in the restaurant. "A bet, huh? For Haruhi Fujioka's baby pictures? Son, you sure know how to get yourself into some ridiculous situations."

Tamaki looked at his father bemusedly. "Is it really that funny?"

"Funny? It's hilarious! I can't wait to see how this plays out…you can be a transfer student or something of the like, I can even draw up some papers to make it official."

"I hadn't thought of that," Tamaki said. In fact, he hadn't thought very far past the physical qualities of being a girl. He would need an identity, some kind of backstory. He needed a character…and he knew just who could help him with that, if she was willing.

…

The next afternoon, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the atmosphere at Lobelia Academy as school was letting out was bright and cheerful – well, except for the emo cloud of doom hovering outside the front door. Tamaki had been waiting at the entrance to Lobelia for a certain someone to come out, and couldn't help but try to charm the lovely ladies as they left. Naturally, they had rejected him quite harshly, turning him into a pathetic lump of sadness.

"Suoh, is that you? What on earth are you doing here? And stop growing mushrooms on the school's doorstep!"

Tamaki looked up from his makeshift emo corner and wiped his eyes. "Benibara-san! Just the woman I was hoping to see!" he said, gathering his mushrooms and standing up.

Benibara raised an eyebrow. "What do _you_ want?"

"Well, you see, I'm going to pretend to be a girl for a week, and I need the help of the Zuka Club to get into character. You are, after all, accomplished actresses, and –"

"Flattery isn't going to help your case," Benibara said bluntly just as Tamaki was pulling a rose from his sleeve. "Why should I help you?"

"Well…if I can pull this off, I'll win some baby pictures of Haruhi…I suppose I could share them with you…" Tamaki said reluctantly. If anyone could help him develop a believable character, it was the Zuka Club, so he'd do what he had to to get them on board.

"Haruhi's…baby pictures?" Benibara repeated, a fire suddenly springing up in her eyes. Really, there are too many weirdoes out there who would do anything for pictures of Haruhi…but that's beside the point. "Fine, we'll help with your petty game."

Tamaki fistpumped. "Thank you!" he cried gleefully, trying to hug Benibara, who slapped him.

"This doesn't make us friends. I still hate your guts."

"Noted," Tamaki said, wincing.

…

"So if you're starting from scratch and only need to stay in character for a week, it would be easiest just to draw from your own history and personality," Benibara said thoughtfully. She, Hinagiku, Suzuran, and Tamaki were in one of Lobelia's many rooms used for rehearsals, brainstorming.

"Well, I was raised by my mother in France," Tamaki said, his normally cheerful expression clouding.

"Good, that's something to go off of. Your assignment is to write a 3-page essay – her background, her personality, her habits, why she's going to Ouran – who is this girl? First-person perspective, you'll read it to us tomorrow in character," Benibara instructed.

"Three pages? By tomorrow? I'm only going to be her for a week, do I really need–?" He broke off when Benibara whipped out a harisen and slapped it in her palm threateningly. "Ok. No problem," he gulped.

…

"Who is she?" Tamaki asked himself later that night as he sat staring blankly at his equally blank notebook. Shaking his head, he said in a high-pitched tone, "No, who am _I?_" With a sigh, he decided he still needed to work on his voice. Benibara had said to draw on his own past, but he had no idea where to begin with this girl he was going to be. "_Je ne peux pas le faire*_…hey, that's it!"

Struck by sudden inspiration, Tamaki started writing, words spilling out almost faster than his pen could move.

_Bonjour, mon nom est Anne-Sophie Suoh...**_

** * I ****can't**** do ****this**

** ** Hello, my name is Anne-Sophie Suoh…**


	3. Dude Look Like a Lady

It was the first day of the new semester, and Kyoya was sitting at his desk before homeroom, scribbling away in his notebook and talking to himself under his breath.

"We'll be losing a lot of customers, and therefore a lot of revenue, this week, what with Tamaki not being able to host…we'll have to hold some kind of event to make up for it…how about a charity ball?" It crossed his mind how irritated Haruhi would be if she heard him imply that any of the rich kids at this school needed charity. "Yes, that actually works perfectly," Kyoya agreed with himself with a sly smile. If he didn't have his own agenda for this week, there was no way he would've let Tamaki participate in this ridiculous game, but Kyoya being Kyoya, he had ulterior motives.

As focused as he was on what he was writing, Kyoya didn't notice that the teacher had entered, a foreigner trailing behind him, until he cleared his throat and called the class to attention.

"Good morning everyone. We're going to have a new student this week. I'll let her introduce herself and explain."

"_Bonjour,_" the blond girl said quietly, smiling and giving the class a little wave. "My name iz Anne-Sophie Suoh, I am Tamaki's cuzzin from France." Kyoya took note of her heavy accent before doing a double take. "My fahzzer iz being moved to Japan for hiz work, and I am here to try out zis school, see what I zink. Already, I like eet."

Kyoya let out a low whistle. He had half-expected Tamaki's disguise to be a travesty, and that he already would have been laughed out of the school by now. He had to admit, however, that Tamaki had done a good job – even he had been fooled for a moment by Tamaki's long, wavy hair and poor Japanese. He had put in green colored contacts to hide his distinctive violet eyes, and adopting a thick accent was clever, as it helped make his voice less recognizable.

"I hope you'll all set a good example for our school. Miss Suoh, why don't you go sit in your cousin's chair? You said he's not here today, right?"

Tamaki nodded. "Sadly, he iz sick wiz the flu, I do not know when he will be feeling well enough to come to school." He waved to the classroom again and took his usual spot, not giving Kyoya a second glance, and saying hello to the girl next to him.

"Did Tamaki tell you about the Host Club?" she whispered to the blond. "It's too bad he won't be there today, but you _have _to come! Trust me, once you've been, you'll definitely want to come to Ouran when you move here!" Before she could say any more, the teacher shushed her and the girl giggled and turned to the front.

"I'd love to come to zis Host Club, you'll have to show me!" Tamaki whispered back before focusing on the teacher as well. Kyoya chuckled to himself. This was going to be entertaining, if Tamaki didn't screw it up before it got good.

…

After school let out, "Anne-Sophie" was brought to the Host Club by half a dozen girls who'd instantly befriended "her."

"Over there is Kyoya, he's in your class. There's Hunny and Mori, the third-years, and over there you have Hikaru and Kaoru, first-year twins, and Haruhi, also a first-year, who just joined the Host Club recently," explained one of Tamaki's frequent guests. With a sigh, she added, "And your cousin is a host too, but since he's sick today, I guess I'll visit with Hunny and Mori. Who do you want? If you can't decide –"

"I like zat brunette over zere, he's, ah, very handsome!" Tamaki said. "What wuz hiz name again? Haruhi?"

The girls giggled. Tamaki had never noticed just how much girls giggled until he had to join in every time. It was rather tiring. "Yeah, that's Haruhi," said Kurakano. "He's actually a _commoner, _if you can believe that. Come on, I'll introduce you!" She grabbed Tamaki's hand and dragged him to Haruhi's couch. "Haruhi, this is Anne-Sophie Suoh, Tamaki's cousin from France!"

Haruhi raised her eyebrows in surprise, but smiled and said, "Oh, nice to meet you, Suoh-san. Please, sit down."

Tamaki made to sit down next to Haruhi, but two girls had already sat down on either side of her. Scowling a little to himself, but quickly recovering his composure, Tamaki settled for a chair across from the couch they were occupying. "Pleeze, just Anne-Sophie, I do not mind eef you address me casually."

"All right then, Anne-Sophie." Haruhi nodded, wondering how Tamaki had decided on his French identity. "So, are you transferring here?"

"Oh, I am just visiting, my fahzzer is moving to Japan for work and I am trying out different schools. I already liked Ouran, and I like it even more now zat I have met you," Tamaki said, giggling, sending the other girls into fits of giggles too. Haruhi coughed and changed the subject.

"Um, Anne-Sophie is a pretty name. Does it mean anything?" She wasn't sure if Western names had as detailed meanings behind them as Japanese ones usually did..

Tamaki's smile became sad, and as he looked straight into Haruhi's eyes, she knew it was Tamaki, not the fictitious Anne-Sophie Suoh, softly speaking the words that followed. "Anne-Sophie iz my muhzzer's name. I spent most of my life in France, and now I am moving to Japan, and she iz very sick, too sick to come wiz us, even if…" he shook his head. "My family, eet iz…we cannot seet at ze kotatsu togezzer like you Japanese do."

Haruhi didn't quite get what a kotatsu had to do with anything, but the look on Tamaki's face as he told her about his mother broke her heart. He always seemed so happy…Haruhi felt a rush of sympathy, and something else she couldn't place. She looked down. "I had no idea. I'm sorry."

Tamaki had to stop himself from reaching out a hand to his daughter. "Thank you, Haruhi-san, but I do not want to make uzzer people sad on my account. I just want to see you…to see everyone smile."

Haruhi looked up and met Tamaki's eyes again. "It's not a bad thing. Having friends who would be sad for you, it's not a burden for them. You can tell them what you're really thinking, how you really feel," she said sincerely, wishing Tamaki had told her before about his mother. She realized she didn't like having been kept in the dark, and still got the feeling there was something more she didn't know.

Tamaki tilted his head to the side, regarding Haruhi with interest. "I'll keep that in mind," he said quietly, forgetting for a moment to use his accent. He cleared his throat and his expression, turning back into Anne-Sophie once more. "Ah, anyway, I heard you are a commoner? How deed you come to be at Ouran?"

They passed the rest of the club period this way, Tamaki asking questions he already knew the answers too – or at least thought he did. Believe it or not, Haruhi _hadn't_ been thrilled to be a part of the Host Club at first! But, Tamaki was glad to hear, she was enjoying herself now.

"Yeah, Tamaki-sempai can be a real pain in the butt sometimes," Haruhi said, a hint of amusement in her voice, causing Tamaki's bottom lip to stick out instinctively into a pout. With a smile, she added, "But he's not that bad once you get to know him. Don't tell him I said this," she said, leaning forward, lowering her voice conspiratorially, and placing a hand on Tamaki's, forcing him to grin, "but I really respect him."

Tamaki's heart skipped a beat. "Really?"

"Yeah."

After a few drawn-out moments, the two cross-dressers were suddenly aware of their touching hands, and both drew back quickly, blushing. The other girls watched wide-eyed and stifled their giggles.

"You like him, don't you!" one of them exclaimed gleefully as they left Host Club later.

"_Shh_!" Tamaki said, motioning frantically with his hands. "Haruhi's like my –" He stopped himself before he could say "daughter." Not only would that be a dead giveaway, but he had been having this nagging feeling lately that Haruhi wasn't actually his daughter. "Like my, ah, mother. That is, he reminds me of her…" he trailed off, realizing that this made possibly less sense than if he'd called the "young man" his daughter.

It was a complete lie, anyway, but it was the first thing that popped into his head. Haruhi was nothing like Tamaki's mother; she was nothing like any girl he'd ever met before. He was used to complacent, preppy girls who swooned at the merest glance from him. Haruhi wasn't preppy by any stretch of the imagination – she could be downright apathetic at times – and he'd certainly never seen her swoon. But he was intrigued by how different she was, savored the challenge of trying to impress her. He loved…

Tamaki tried to rein in his thoughts. Of course he loved his daughter…but what, he thought again with a jolt, what if she wasn't his daughter? The prospect both scared and excited him, for reasons he couldn't yet put into words. Making a mental note to pick Kyoya's brain about this, Tamaki shook his head to clear it, and waved good-bye as he climbed into the limo waiting to take him home.

One day down, six to go.

**A/N: Happy Black Friday! Y'all get any good sales? Have a good Thanksgiving? I'm thankful for FFN, Ouran High School Host Club, and all my readers, subscribers, favoriters, and reviewers! ^o^ By the by, I'm writing Tamaki's accent fairly heavily for emphasis, but if enough people don't like that, I'll change it. **


	4. Family Ties, or Lack Thereof

As soon as Tamaki got home, he ran straight to his room, changed into his normal men's clothes, and dialed his best friend's number.

"Kyoya!" Tamaki cried when he picked up.

"So, you survived the first day," Kyoya said by way of greeting. "I must say, your disguise went over better than I expected."

Tamaki heaved a sigh. "Yes, but I don't know how girls manage all day, much less their whole lives. These…_things_ – you know what I'm talking about – have to weigh five pounds each!"

A sound came from the other end of the line, like someone taking a drink at the wrong time, choking on it, and spewing water all over creation. But that would never happen to Kyoya, so let's just assume it was Tamaki's imagination.

Kyoya cleared his throat. "I'll…keep that in mind."

Tamaki swallowed, steeling himself. He would have to ask, there was no getting around it. "Mommy?"

Kyoya sighed. "Tamaki, how many times must I tell you not to call me that?"

"So…so you're not Haruhi's mommy?" Tamaki asked in desperation.

"Tamaki," Kyoya began impatiently, "I am a man. I met Haruhi at the start of the school year, and she's only a year younger than us. It's biologically impossible for either of us to be Haruhi's parents…especially both of us."

"So what you're saying is…I'm not Haruhi's father…"

"That's what we've all been saying for months," Kyoya confirmed, biting his tongue before adding, "you moron."

"So it's true," Tamaki said, "I'm not Haruhi's daddy."

"Why are you bringing this up now?" Kyoya asked.

"Well…you see…lately, I've been thinking, maybe Haruhi's not my daughter. Which is fine, I suppose, except it doesn't make sense."

"Tamaki, I just explained –"

"No, no, not that. What doesn't make sense is why I can't get her out of my head, why I can't help but notice how pretty she is, dressed as a boy or not. Sometimes I just want to hug her and never let go! If I'm not her father, then what's going on with me?" Tamaki asked fretfully.

A long silence stretched out, in which Kyoya contemplated calling Tamaki many insulting names, laughing at him, or telling him what he couldn't seem to work out on his own. Maybe all three.

"Kyoya? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I was just thinking. You love Haruhi, don't you?"

"Of course!" Tamaki answered without hesitation. "But if she's not my daughter, then–"

"There are different kinds of love, Tamaki. Just think about that." _It's best if I let this happen naturally, otherwise the idiot could ruin everything,_ Kyoya decided. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go. My sister is trying to clean my room and it looks like a tornado came through. Good luck."

"Good luck with what? Kyoya –" _Click. _"He hung up on me!" Tamaki said indignantly, before sighing and flopping onto his bed. "Different kinds of love…what on earth is Kyoya trying to tell me?"

Meanwhile, the raven-haired boy was staring at his phone, shaking his head in wonder. How could someone who knew the way to so many girls' hearts be so clueless about his own?

**A/N: If she's still around, mucho thank-o to Tbonechick2011 for A) Being super awesome! And B) Giving me lots of inspiration and different ideas for RRT…for example, the "these things weigh five pounds each" quote! Pure genius! XD **


	5. Role Reversal

**A/N: The jury's out - the accent stays! Glad y'all like it! Now please enjoy chapter 5~**

"A double date?" Tamaki and Hikaru repeated incredulously in unison.

"Yes, that's what I said," Kyoya confirmed. He had conference called the two Tuesday after school to inform them of his latest scheme.

"Kyoya-sempai, if we're not allowed to interfere, neither are you! And besides, I don't want stupid Milord and some guy tagging along on my date," Hikaru said.

"I'm not interfering, I'm making it more interesting," Kyoya said, ignoring Tamaki's protests at being called stupid. "It would be quite boring if all Tamaki had to do was go to school and giggle to win the bet, wouldn't you agree, Hikaru?"

There was silence from the twin's end for a moment, then he said, "That's true…all right, fine. I'll just tell Kairi I'm helping 'Anne-Sophie' out as a favor for Milord."

"But what if I don't want –"

"I don't remember you having a say in the matter, Tamaki," Kyoya interrupted. "You'll do what I tell you if you want to have a chance at winning."

Tamaki sighed, accepting his fate. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Good. I'll send your date to the café, Tamaki, be there at six."

"Wait, who are you –"

_Click._

"He hung up on me! Again!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Hikaru, do –"

_Click._

"…Hikaru?" Tamaki pulled his cell away from his ear and looked at it. Sure enough, Hikaru had hung up on him too. Snapping his phone closed, Tamaki grabbed the corset he had just taken off and called a couple maids to help get it back on. When he was secure, he suddenly realized it had never occurred to him that he'd need women's clothing outside of school.

"Er…do any of you maybe have something I can borrow?" Tamaki asked the maids. They exchanged glances.

"Sorry Master Tamaki, but even if we had extra clothes with us, I don't think anything we own would fit you," said one of them.

"Definitely not," said the other, eyeing Tamaki's inexplicable size-zero figure.

Tamaki sighed. "No problem, I'll just wear something of mine and pick up some clothes while I'm out." Slipping into a generic t-shirt and jeans, Tamaki headed outside and told his limo driver the name of the café they were going to.

"Who would Kyoya have set me up with?" Tamaki asked himself, watching the landscape fly by outside his window, changing slowly from the extravagant mansions of the wealthy to the modest dwellings of commoners. "I just hope they don't get too attached, 'Anne-Sophie' won't be around too long, one way or another."

The limo eventually pulled to a stop in front of the café, and as Tamaki was climbing out, a small crowd had gathered, trying to figure out what such a fancy car was doing at a place like this.

"Oh look, it's a foreigner," one man whispered.

"She's so pretty, maybe she's a movie star," sighed a star-struck young girl. "Or a princess!"

The blond, ignoring the curious commoners, headed towards the café, where he found his date waiting for him by the door. "Haruhi?" he said in surprise.

The girl looked up from her watch. "Tama – um, Anne-Sophie! Kyoya sent me here on Host Club business, but he didn't tell me you were my date."

"He didn't tell me, either," Tamaki replied, feeling somewhat relieved. This would make things a little easier, having one less person to fool.

"You sure have attracted a lot of attention," Haruhi said, raising an eyebrow at the crowd, which had grown since Tamaki had first arrived. It didn't help that the limo hadn't left yet.

"Ah, yes, occupational hazard," Tamaki said, waving at his driver to signal it was okay for him to leave. He and Haruhi stood there staring at each other for a few moments before Tamaki finally said, "Well, we should go inside and grab a table."

"Yeah." Haruhi made for the door, but Tamaki gallantly stepped ahead of her, opened it, and let her go first. To the crowd, however, it didn't look like such a courteous act.

"What kind of man makes his girlfriend open doors for him?" wondered a nearby woman loudly.

"Disgraceful," agreed another, shaking her head.

Turning red, Haruhi shoved Tamaki inside ahead of her and hurriedly shut the door behind them. "Sempai, I appreciate the thought, but I don't want strangers thinking that A., you're my girlfriend, or B., that I'm a horrible boyfriend." _Now there's something I never thought I'd have to say,_ Haruhi thought with a roll of her eyes.

"I suppose that for now, I must suppress my gentlemanly nature, even if it means leaving a lady hanging," Tamaki sighed dramatically.

"It's really not that big a deal to me either way," Haruhi said. "But next week, I guess I can't stop you from trying to be my dad or whatever."

"Haruhi…" Tamaki began, wondering how to put this. Might as well be blunt. "I'm actually not your daddy," he told the younger girl.

"Yeah. I know. I've been telling you that for ages now."

"Hmm, I guess I should have listened to you," Tamaki said thoughtfully.

Haruhi laughed, half amused, half exasperated. For the life of her, she'd never understand her upperclassman. She led Tamaki to a booth and they sat down next to each other.

"Haruhi," Tamaki began, "you're not my daughter, right?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Well, then maybe you can help me with something. Kyoya said there are different types of love, and if I'm not your daddy, then –"

"Oh, hey, Haruhi! Anne-Sophie!"

Tamaki felt like he had been on the verge of something important when Hikaru walked in with Kairi, a friendly-looking girl with dark red hair, and called their names. The moment was over now, however, and he had to shake it off and tell himself he'd worry about it later.

"Hey guys," Haruhi said, standing up and waving. "Anne-Sophie, have you met Kairi Okano? She's in my and the twins' class, and she's been going out with Hikaru for…what, a month now?"

Kairi smiled at Anne-Sophie. "Nice to meet you. You're Tamaki's cousin, right?"

Tamaki nodded. "_Oui. _Eet is a pleasure to meet you too."

Hikaru slid into the booth next to Kairi. "Two months, actually," he said.

"Eef I may ask, what eez eet like, to date a host?" Tamaki asked. "How deed zis come about?"

"Well, Kairi had been a regular guest of mine and Kaoru's for a while," Hikaru started.

"He always gets this part wrong," Kairi interrupted. "It was all you from the beginning. I've been in your class since kindergarten, and I'd been trying to tell the two of you apart all these years. Once you joined the Host Club and became more outgoing, it got a little easier. You thought your defenses were impenetrable, but finally I realized the one that had been giving me me butterflies in my stomach all this time was always Hikaru," she said with a smile.

"Kairi wrote me a letter," Hikaru continued, smiling, "and I agreed to meet her after school. Kaoru, posing as me – this was just before I dyed my hair, of course – said, 'I'm sorry, but I'm not interested. I think Kaoru said he likes you though.' Something to that effect. Anyway, I was watching, and I remember what Kairi said to that – she kind of tipped her head to the side and went, 'Why couldn't Hikaru tell me himself? Kaoru, why are you pretending to be him? I'm a little confused.'"

Kairi giggled. "You were so surprised that someone saw through your façade that you fell out of the tree you were hiding in."

Hikaru nudged her with his elbow. "You didn't have to tell them _that _part. Anyway, I saw Kairi in a whole new light after that. Finally, a couple months ago, I took a chance…and it paid off."

"We've actually had to keep it a secret, though," Kairi said. "Hikaru has a lot of other guests that he can't disappoint."

"Yeah, and Kyoya-sempai would kill me if I caused the club to lose any profit," Hikaru added.

"That eez such a sweet story," Tamaki said. "I weesh the two of you luck, eet must be hard to hide what you have."

"It can be, but it's worth it," Kairi said happily, and Hikaru nodded his agreement. The quartet placed their orders and carried on their date fairly uneventfully, chatting away like the teenagers they were.

"Please excuse me," Tamaki said after a while, "but I must use the restroom."

And of course, like the teenage girl she was, Kairi sprang up and said, "I'll go with you!"

Tamaki gave Kairi an odd look as he was getting up. "Er, okay then."

"Haruhi, do all girls go everywhere in packs?" Hikaru asked in amusement when Tamaki and Kairi were out of earshot.

"Dunno," Haruhi said with a shrug. "I never did."

"But seriously," Hikaru said, suddenly scowling, "what's Kyoya playing at? He specifically said he wanted to make things harder for Milord, but setting the two of you up doesn't seem like much of a challenge, even if Kairi is here."

Haruhi just shrugged again, taking a sip of her iced coffee. "I never understand why Kyoya-sempai does anything. Come to think of it, I never understand most of what any of you do."

"Touché," Hikaru replied.

Meanwhile, feeling extremely awkward, Tamaki let Kairi lead them to the women's room, wondering why she felt the need to talk to him even when they were in separate stalls. Couldn't a man get some peace and quiet when he was – oh…right.

When Tamaki had finished washing his hands, he made to leave, but Kairi insisted he stay. Suppressing a sigh, Tamaki fixed his gaze firmly on the floor as Kairi touched up her make-up and talked his ears off. He felt like any minute, Hikaru was going to burst through the door and start calling him a pervert for being in the women's room. Finally, Kairi was satisfied with her appearance and Tamaki followed her out of the bathroom in relief.

"We're back!" Kairi declared when the pair returned to the table.

"I can see that," Haruhi replied. "I actually have to get going now, there's a sale going on at the supermarket that I can't miss. I had a nice time with you guys today."

"It was nice seeing you too, Haruhi!" Kairi replied, waving as Haruhi stood up and counted out the money to pay for her coffee.

"Yes, thank you for taking me out, Haruhi!" Tamaki said, barely suppressing the urge to whip out his wallet and pay for Haruhi's drink himself. "I weel see you at Host Club tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you then. Bye guys," Haruhi said, turning and leaving with a wave.

"I should geet going too, leave the two of you to yourselves," Tamaki said, getting out his cell phone to call his driver.

"Oooh! Anne-Sophie!" Kairi exclaimed excitedly. "Do you want to come shopping with me and some of my friends tomorrow?"

_I need some new clothes just in case, and Kyoya probably would have had me do something like this for the bet anyway._ Tamaki smiled. "I would love too!"

"Great, meet us at _Gōkana_, say around six?" Kairi asked.

"_Oui_," Tamaki agreed. "See you tomorrow!"

Little did Tamaki know, however (as he was oblivious to the unnecessarily dramatic music in the author's mind), that he was about to journey where no man had gone before and lived to tell the tale…

**A/N: Kairi is actually an OC of mine from a past story, Ouran High School Ghost Club, but she was only in a few chapters, so I decided to bring her back. If you don't get the hair-dying reference…well, it's a manga-only thing. ^.^" So I guess, character-development-wise, RRT takes place around book 13 or so? Sound about right? Yeah, sure. So, anyway…don't forget to review! See ya next chapter!**


	6. Shopping Spree

_Gōkana _Shopping Mall_._ The name itself meant luxury. With four stories of none but the highest quality products, name-brand designer boutiques, and four-star restaurants, this couldn't be farther from a commoner's mall. If you had to ask how much something in one of these stores cost, you probably couldn't afford to even be there in the first place. In other words, it was a favorite place for the students of Ouran to go spend an afternoon and their inheritance, and it was where Kairi had invited Tamaki to go shopping with her friends.

When he arrived, he found Kairi waiting at a coffee shop with a couple girls he recognized as guests of the Host Club.

"Hey, Anne-Sophie!" Kairi called, waving him over to their table. "These are my friends Hira Daimo–"

"Hi." Hira was tall and tan, with long brown hair.

"– and Kurone Chihara."

The other girl, who looked like she could've been part of a visual kei band, nodded at him. She didn't look at all like the type to visit the Host Club, but he was pretty sure he'd seen her with Kyoya before.

Tamaki bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you both, I am Anne-Sophie Suoh. I possibly will be attending Ouran next semester, but for now I'm just visiting."

"Hey, you don't hafta be so polite, relax!" Hira said pleasantly, speaking with a distinct Osakan accent, as the trio stood up.

"Well, now that we're all here, let's go," Kairi said. As Tamaki followed them out of the coffee shop, he had no idea how much one simple day at the mall would put his disguise to the test.

…

As the group of girls entered the first clothing store they happened upon, a man immediately stepped forward to greet them. "Welcome to Vivian East, if there's anything I can help you with, just let me know."  
"Thank you, we will," Kairi said, making a beeline for the tops, the others trailing behind her.

"Which color do you think goes better with my eyes?" Kurone asked, holding up two blue blouses that looked identical to Tamaki.

"Definitely the cyan one," Kairi said.

"Are you insane? The baby blue one looks SO much better," Hira argued.

Kurone sighed. "You two are no help. What do you think, Anne-Sophie?"

"Ahh…the one een your right hand?" Tamaki said uncertainly. They still both just looked blue to him.

"I'll just get them both," Kurone decided.

_Then why did it matter which one looked better in the first place? _Tamaki wondered, wandering off deeper into the store to look for something to wear if he needed to go out as a girl again later in the week. After a few minutes it occurred to him that all of these clothes were sized completely different from menswear. "Um…" he said, glancing around. Out of nowhere, the man that had welcomed them earlier appeared.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I need to know my size…eet, ah, works deefferently in France."

"Yes, ma'am," the man said, and with a snap of his fingers, a young woman approached Tamaki with a tape measure.

"Let me direct you to the petite section," she said, after taking note of Tamaki's bust, waist, and hip measurements. "And if you're looking for pants, I just need to take your inseam and –"

"No, zat weel be quite all right," Tamaki cut her off, clearing his throat awkwardly. No need to go looking for trouble there.

The woman raised an eyebrow, but simply said, "Yes ma'am. As I said, follow me to the petites."

"Thank you," Tamaki said as the woman led him to where the smaller sizes were. With a bow and assurances that she would be around if he needed anything else, she let him be. "Let's see…hmmm, what to get…" Tamaki browsed the racks, fondly remembering the mass-produced items in the commoner's shopping mall he had been to once. At least the commoner's "quantity over quality" take on fashion made it easier to pick something. Then, remembering that it didn't really matter since he'd only be wearing these clothes once, if at all, Tamaki shrugged and grabbed a couple tops at random. Figuring his own pants would suffice, he headed to the counter and checked out.

When the shirts been carefully boxed up for him, Tamaki grabbed his purchase and headed back into the mall proper, where the others were waiting for him near Vivian East's entrance. As they moved from store to store, Tamaki realized just how intense girls could be about shopping and that he would be lucky if he survived the day. He managed to avoid being stuck in the restroom with any real girls, but that was the least of his worries. He was waiting outside the changing rooms for Hira to finish trying on a dress while Kurone and Kairi were off at another store when the Osakan girl called through the door.

"Anne-Sophie?"

"Yes?" he called back.

"Can you come in here and zip me up?"

Tamaki flushed. "Uh, who, me?"

"Yes, you, silly!" The door opened and Hira peeked out. "Come on, I need to see how this looks on me."

"A-all right then," Tamaki stammered, stepping into the changing room and staring at his feet as he fumbled with Kairi's zipper. Hira laughed.

"I thought you Westerners weren't so modest," she commented.

"I guess I am zee odd one out zen," Tamaki said, making to leave as he finished with the zipper.

"You know, I don't like this after all, can you un–"

"I have to use zee restroom!" Tamaki cut her off, racing out of the changing room before he could be asked to help with anything else. The stakes were getting higher; this was about more than pride or baby pictures now – if anyone found him out, his reputation would plummet from king of the Host Club to king of the perverts, even though he had taken this bet with none but the purest intentions (because wanting to stare at illicitly obtained baby pictures of Haruhi isn't creepy in the slightest).

"I just have to get through a few more days," Tamaki reassured himself, standing outside the store to wait for Hira.

After meeting back up with Kairi and Kurone, they were about to leave when Hira exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, I just remembered, the Host Club's charity ball is in a few days and I have nothing to wear!"

"Charity ball?" Tamaki asked.

"Yeah, it's next Monday night. I guess you're not on the Host Club's e-mail list?"

"E-mail leest?" Tamaki repeated, feeling more and more clueless by the second. As the president of the Host Club, he felt like he should probably know these things. _Nobody tells me anything, _he pouted inwardly.

"Yeah, it's how they let their guests know about events and stuff," Hira explained. "Most of us were automatically signed up once we started going, maybe they don't have your e-mail adress since you're not officially a student yet. But anyway, there's a ball this Monday night and we need to go pick out something to wear! Come on, I know this great formalwear place on the third floor."

Hira led the way to a boutique filled with one-of-a-kind dresses for special occasions. They walked up and down aisles of dresses in every color imaginable, the girls chattering on about what colors looked best on them, how to wear their hair, what shoes would look best with whatever they picked out. Tamaki had never realized just how much effort girls went to to look beautiful; but then, he thought they were all beautiful all the time anyway.

"Hmm…I like zis one," Tamaki said after he'd gotten bored looking, holding up a red strapless gown and heading for the register.

"You're buying it? Just like that?" Kairi asked incredulously.

"What, eez it no good?"

"Well, how would I know? You haven't tried it on yet!"

"But…eet's my size, so –"

"Anne-Sophie, you don't just buy a dress because it's your size. I thought the French were more fashion-forward than that?" Kairi sighed.

Tamaki had to resist the temptation to sigh right back. He really didn't care, seeing as how he would be wearing this dress once before Anne-Sophie dropped off the face of the earth, but he trudged into the dressing room and slipped into it.

"Well?" Kurone called through the door.

"The neckline ees too low," Tamaki called back, and it was true. His chest wasn't real, after all, so having it hang out was out of the question. Besides, he preferred ladies to have a little modesty. So he changed back into his clothes, hung the red dress back up, and let Hira and Kairi argue for a while over what kind of dress would look best on his figure until they finally agreed on one. The gown was sleeveless, straps tying behind his neck to keep the sweetheart neckline up. Yards of the finest lilac-colored satin cascaded from the bustline, delicately pooling on the floor over many layers of tulle to give it shape.

"I think this would be perfect," Kairi said, handing the dress over to Tamaki. When he tried it on, he had to agree it looked good on him, and it fit like a glove.

"Yes, I think I'll geet eet," Tamaki said, changing back into his t-shirt and jeans and replacing the dress on its hanger. He took it to the counter, paid for it, and waited for the others to pick out their gowns. When they were all satisfied with their attire for the ball and had checked out, the four gathered outside the boutique.

"Well, I need to get home now, it's getting kind of late," Kairi said, and the others nodded their agreement. After a long, drawn-out, hug-filled good-bye, the girls went their separate ways and Tamaki wandered toward the nearest exit. On his way, however, a certain shop caught his eye.

Now, most commoner malls probably don't have rare antique shops in them, but we've already established that Gōkana is no ordinary shopping mall. Tamaki headed inside and browsed the shelves full of the Japanese art he'd always been so fond of. Smiling politely at the shopkeeper after a few minutes, Tamaki was about to leave when he noticed something tucked away behind a vase. Carefully picking it up and taking it to the counter, Tamaki smiled to himself. He was still trying to figure out what Haruhi was to him, but he was certain she was going to love this.

**A/N: Hira and Kurone are more figments of my imagination, based on a couple real-life friends (as is Kairi). ****Uh…yeah that's all I wanted to say, actually. After a slightly awkward silence, the author retreats, taking the chance to very un-subtly remind her readers to review in the process.**


	7. Tipping Point

**A/N: ERMAHGERSH GERZ SRRY I tots meant to update yesterday...but do not fear, for I have not abandoned you! I present, Chapter 7!**

Haruhi was working on her homework in the kitchen when she heard a knock at the door. Getting up and crossing the short distance, she opened the door and saw…no one. Chalking the noise up to a figment of her imagination and shrugging, she turned and made to close the door when something cold clamped around her ankle. Had whatever it was not had her anchored to the ground, Haruhi would have jumped two feet in the air, but instead fell flat on her face.

"Haruhiiiiii…" a voice croaked. The girl shook her captor loose and scrambled to a sitting position. When she saw Tamaki collapsed on her doorstep, one arm cradling two small packages and the other outstretched towards her, she calmed down a little, making room on her emotional scale for annoyance.

"Sempai, what on earth are you doing?" she asked, getting to her feet and helping the blond to his. Teary-eyed, Tamaki blubbered something incoherent about being hungry, and Haruhi sighed. "I was about to make myself dinner, I might as well get you something too. Come on."

As Tamaki slipped off his shoes in the entryway, Haruhi glanced back and noticed something odd. "Sempai…did you walk to my house in those heels?"

"Uh-huh," Tamaki sniffed, following Haruhi into the kitchen.

"Here, make yourself useful, get us some bowls out of that cabinet there," Haruhi instructed as she pulled some leftovers out of the fridge. "And why would you do that?"

"W-well, last time I came over, you got mad at me for attracting so much attention. So I had my driver drop me off far enough away from your neighborhood that I wouldn't embarrass you," Tamaki explained, stifling a sigh of relief when he saw that the Fujiokas had plenty of dishes. He still had nightmares about Haruhi eating out of tupperware.

"I, uh, appreciate the gesture, but what I meant was, why pay me a house call in three-inch heels?"

"I don't know, I got them when I was out shopping with the girls yesterday, and I just slipped them on because they happened to be nearby…I didn't know it would hurt so much to walk in them!" Tamaki's voice had risen to a whine. "And it took me a whole half-hour to get here from where I was dropped off!" Obviously, he was new to the world of suffering for fashion.

"Why didn't you take them off?" Haruhi asked, raising an eyebrow. Tamaki stared at her, his eyes widening like it hadn't even occurred to him. Laughing a little, Haruhi finished doling out the rice and vegetables and carried the bowls to the table.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, I brought cake!" Tamaki set his packages down next to his seat and placed the larger one, a bright pink box decorated with pictures of sweets, on the table. Trying not to look too happy (but failing), Haruhi bowed her head and thanked her upperclassman. Tamaki smiled at her reaction.

_"Itadakimasu," _Haruhi said to hide her embarrassment, and Tamaki responded in kind.*

"So, who were these girls you went shopping with?" Haruhi asked once they'd started eating.

"Kairi and a couple of her friends, Daimo-san and Chihara-san."

"That's right, she invited you when we were out with her and Hikaru. You sure are taking this bet seriously," Haruhi noted. Tamaki shrugged.

"Well, Kyoya assured me that if I cancelled on Kairi, I would lose the bet. And knowing Kyoya, he's probably got more tricks up his sleeve, so I got some girl's clothes just in case." He refrained from adding how cute he thought Haruhi would look in some of what he saw while he was out. Would it be weird if he offered to let her have the clothes he bought when he was done with them? As he fretted over whether that would offend her or not, Haruhi's expression slowly changed from curious amusement to apprehension.

"Tamaki-sempai?" she said slowly, breaking the silence.

"Yes? Is something the matter?" he asked, noticing the look on her face.

Haruhi looked down, fidgeting with her chopsticks as she took a deep breath and continued in a rush. "I hope you don't think I was prying, but I asked the rest of the hosts about your remark the other day about not being able to sit at a kotatsu with your family. At first I thought it was just one of your Japanese culture obsession things, but they told me about…your family situation, and I just want to say…I'm sorry, and I know how it feels, so you don't have to hide it from me anymore. If – if you need someone to talk to, I'm here."

Tamaki blinked and opened his mouth to reply, but Haruhi held up a hand to signal that she wasn't done yet. "My mom…well, you know. She was sick too, and she didn't make it. And I know it's miles away from being close to what's going on for you, but because of choices my father made, I can't remember ever even seeing my grandparents. So…so like I said, you don't have to keep things from me. I want you to be able to talk to me." Blushing furiously, Haruhi wolfed down the rest of her dinner to avoid meeting Tamaki's eyes.

"Haruhi…" The blond paused, trying to sort his emotions and decide which one to tackle first. "Thank you," he finally said, smiling softy. "That means a lot to me. But I was never trying to hide anything from you. It just…never came up, and like I told you before, I hate seeing others sad because of me. Heaven only knows how much sadness I've caused already," he added quietly.

"Don't say that, Sempai!" Haruhi exclaimed, Tamaki's aside not going unnoticed. "Just because you're being punished for what happened doesn't mean it's your fault. Sometimes people get so wrapped up in their fights that they turn innocent bystanders into weapons to use against each other, and don't care who else gets hurt as long as they win. If you're allowed to not want to see me unhappy, can't I want the same for you? I hate knowing that you're suffering like this!"

In that moment, something inside both young hosts changed, although they would each have to figure out what exactly that was on their own time. Tamaki looked at Haruhi, who was red in the face from embarrassment and over-excitement, and felt an overwhelming sense of something he couldn't – or wouldn't – name. "I didn't realize how you felt. I'll try not to keep anything else from you in the future. But," he added, extending his pinky across the table, "you have to promise to stop feeling bad for me, because I'm not bitter about my situation. I only wish my family could understand each other. Do we have a deal?"

Smiling, Haruhi locked pinkies with Tamaki. "I'll hold you to that."

"Likewise," Tamaki assured the brunette.

A short while passed before the front door opened, dragging the two back to reality as Haruhi's father walked in. "Haruhiiii, I'm hooome!" he announced himself in a sing-song voice. "Oh, who's your friend? I don't think I've met her before."

Tamaki jumped to his feet in a tizzy. "Erm, I, uh, I am Anne-Sophie Suoh, I am visiting from France, eet eez nice to meet your, sir," he said, half-bowing and shaking Ranka's hand at the same time.

Raising an eyebrow, Ranka returned both greetings. "You seem awfully familiar…is this your first time in Japan?"

Seeing that Tamaki was floundering, Haruhi stood up and properly introduced him. "Anne-Sophie is Tamaki-sempai's cousin from France, she's just visiting Ouran for a short while to see if she likes it. She's moving to Japan and is trying out different schools."

"I see," Ranka said. "Well, there's definitely a family resemblance. Anyway, don't mind me, I'll let the two of you get back to your girl stuff." Humming to himself, Ranka kicked his shoes off (his heels were only half as tall as Tamaki's) and headed to his room.

"Sempai, why did you freak out like that?" Haruhi asked once her dad was out of earshot.

"Your father hates me enough as it is, he'd kill me if he thought I was disrespecting his, er, lifestyle." Tamaki sighed. "Anyway, it's getting late, I'd better get going."

"Oh, I guess you're right," Haruhi said. "Want to borrow some more comfortable shoes?"

"No thanks, I'll make do." He grabbed his heels and headed for the door barefoot. As he was leaving, he turned and said, "Hey, Haruhi?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Haruhi nodded. "Likewise."

Smiling, Tamaki waved and left. After a few moments, Haruhi realized she was still staring at the door. Blinking a few times and shaking her head, she went to go clean up their late-night snack. As she brought the dishes to the sink, she noticed that Tamaki had left both his packages. Haruhi put the cake in the fridge and examined the other box. If she ran now, she could probably catch him before he got too far, but she would rather just bring it to school tomorrow. Except – there was a card attached, and upon closer inspection, it had her name on it.

Shrugging, Haruhi peeled it off the box and opened it. _Dear Haruhi, _it read in Tamaki's handwriting. _I saw this while I was out shopping and thought of you. I hope you like it! _Below that, the word "love" was written and crossed out, and so was "forever yours" and "yours truly." Finally, he seemed to have decided on _Sincerely, Tamaki~_

Not sure what to make of the card, Haruhi hesitantly opened the package. Nestled between layers of tissue and wrapped in newspaper was a ceramic…tanuki statue. Haruhi half-sighed and half-laughed.

"Well, it's the thought that counts, right?" she asked herself, setting the gift on top of a cabinet. As she did so, she paused. Something about the statue seemed different, somehow. No, that didn't make sense…it was Haruhi that was different. Normally, a present like this from her upperclassman would have annoyed her to no end, but she had accepted it graciously, even going so far as to actually display it where people could see it. And that wasn't all. Recently, she had been putting up with more and more from Tamaki, letting things slide that usually made her angry, even enjoying his company. Then when she heard about his family, and seen him so sad tonight, her heart felt his pain like it was her own.

"Oh." That's when it hit her. It was an uneventful realization, almost as if she had thought, "Oh, I need to go to the supermarket today." Only instead of needing to go grocery shopping, she realized she was in love.

"Oh," she said again, not sure how to feel about this recent development. Part of her was shocked and horrified that she could have fallen for someone like Tamaki, and part of her…well, it was pretty much all shock and horror. But the more she thought about it, maybe it wasn't as bad as all that. Haruhi had never met anyone as kind, patient, and caring as Tamaki. And if she tried hard enough, she could think of his quirks as endearing rather than infuriating or stupid.

"Is this love?" Haruhi sighed. "Because if so, it sure doesn't make a lot of sense."

*****_**Itadakimasu**_** in this context basically means "thank you for the meal," it's kind of like a religiously generic equivalent of saying grace before a meal.**


	8. Stranger Danger

"Is that…a boy?"

"No way!"

"MOE!"

Ignoring the not-so-hushed questions and the exclamations of "moe" from the girls at the Host Club, a tall, handsome boy with short black hair walked through the double doors of Music Room 3 and headed straight for Haruhi. Heads turned and eyes followed him as he casually strolled up to the table Haruhi was sitting at.

"Good afternoon, Mitani-san," she greeted him, and the watching fangirls were shocked at how unfazed she was.

"Hey, Fujioka," Mitani replied, sitting down on the couch across from Haruhi, right next to Tamaki. The blond frowned, jumped to his feet, and walked to the entrance of Music Room 3, unnoticed by the girls who only had eyes for Mitani. Catching Kyoya's eye, he motioned for him to get the other hosts and meet him in the hall.

With a sigh, Kyoya obliged his friend. "Everyone, will you please excuse us for a minute?" He gathered the hosts and ushered them out of the room. "What is it, Tamaki?"

"Haruhi, what is _he _doing here?" Tamaki demanded.

"Well, I ran into him as I was heading back to class after lunch earlier," Haruhi began.

…

"_Fujioka-san!"_

_ Haruhi turned around at the sound of her name. A boy who she vaguely recognized as a third-year was crouched down a few yards behind her, picking something up off the ground._

_ "You dropped your…" he trailed off, staring at the small object in confusion as he straightened up. "You're…a girl?"_

_ Haruhi was momentarily at a loss for words as the boy held up her student ID; her long-haired, sailor fuku-clad self plain as day in the picture._

…

"We got to talking and, well, he decided to drop by today," Haruhi explained with a shrug. She peeked through the slightly ajar doors of Music Room 3 and saw Mitani lounging comfortably on a couch, surrounded by curious girls who were staring unabashedly at this unusual visitor. "Now can I get back to my guests?"

Tamaki shook his head. "I don't like this."

"Sempai, weren't you the one who said, when I first found you guys, that men are valuable patrons too?" Haruhi asked dryly.

"Well, yes, maybe," Tamaki admitted. "But this is different. I've heard…bad rumors about Mitani Anno. Even if he didn't know you were a girl, I wouldn't think he was here for the company of a man."

Haruhi frowned. "Be that as it may, they're only rumors, right? And besides, what could he do out in public with so many people around like this? I'll be fine.

Snapping his notebook shut, Kyoya spoke up. "Not to mention, we've attracted a lot of new faces since word got out about our male guest. Even as we've been talking out here, at least a half dozen girls that don't usually come went inside. So long as there's no reason to believe he poses any danger to them, I say we allow it."

When nobody else offered up any arguments for or against Mitani, Tamaki sighed. "Apparently no one values the king's opinion around here. Fine. I just hope you're right."

"Glad we've got that settled," Kyoya said. "Now just wait a few minutes out here, it'll look odd if you walk in with us."

Tamaki huffed in annoyance and leaned against the wall as the rest of the Host Club entered Music Room 3 again.

"Sorry about that, everyone," Kyoya announced as the hosts returned to their seats. "The Host Club is back in business."

He was right about Mitani attracting new customers. At least ten girls who had never been to the Host Club before or usually requested someone else suddenly wanted either to see what was so great about Haruhi or just to watch her interact with Mitani. Tamaki, however, refused to return to Haruhi's table, in favor of sulking in the corner. Haruhi tried to ignore him, but unfortunately his cloud of depression was hovering directly in her line of vision. She sighed. Couldn't her sempai just mind his own business for once? Rumors were only rumors, and Mitani seemed like a nice enough guy. Tamaki was probably just mad someone was more popular than him for once. Not that Haruhi even cared about popularity, aside from getting closer to her goal of 1000 requests.

Well, if Tamaki hoped his little moping session was going to get Haruhi to change her mind, he was wrong. She passed the entire club period chatting away amicably with her swarm of guests and Mitani. When it was time for everyone to go, Mitani stood up, wearing a sly grin. "I'll see you later," he promised, causing the fangirls to freak out and Haruhi to have absolutely no reaction other than to nod her head.

"See you later. It was nice talking to you. All of you," she added, smiling at the girls around her. There was the usual clamoring as everyone made to leave, or tried to milk the last few seconds with a host that they could, before finally it was just the hosts left straightening chairs and gathering their things.

Haruhi made to grab for her bag, only to find it wasn't in the spot she usually put it on club days. She must have left in behind after classes ended. "I'm gonna go grab my bag out of my classroom, then I'm heading out. See you guys tomorrow," she said to the other hosts.

"Do you need any help finding it?" Tamaki asked, having evidently gotten over his stint in the emo corner.

"That's all right. Don't wait up," Haruhi replied, walking by herself down the hall to the first-years' room. The sun had nearly set, drawing long shadows along the wall and floor of the empty classroom. In no hurry, Haruhi meandered towards the back, kind of enjoying the quiet after such a long, noisy day.

"Hey, Fujioka."

Startled by the sudden breaking of the silence, Haruhi's heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she looked toward the door. "Oh, it's you, Mitani-san."

Mitani, leaning against the doorframe, gave a little wave."Whatever you're looking for, wouldn't light make it easier to find?" he asked, reaching up and flicking the light switch.

"Good point." The two just stood there staring at each other for a few moments, then Mitani stepped forward.

"I've been looking for you," he said, shutting the door behind him without looking, as if he didn't even notice what he was doing.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. I just wanted to say I had a nice time at the Host Club today. It was funny, the girls' reactions to seeing me there." Hands in his pockets, he strolled nonchalantly in Haruhi's direction.

"I guess so," Haruhi said absent-mindedly, spotting her bag a few rows down and weaving through a few desks to grab it. As she stood up and turned to the door to leave, she nearly had another heart attack when she saw Mitani, suddenly standing only inches away. "You need to stop scaring me like that," she said, trying to step around him.

"I was thinking," Mitani continued as if she hadn't spoken, sidestepping Haruhi to block her way. "It must be pretty boring for you, only having girls around all the time. Good thing I came along, hmm?"

"What do you mean?" Haruhi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just that I can make your life a little more exciting, in a way your other guests can't," Mitani said with a smirk.

Haruhi bit her lip, finally getting what the older boy was trying to say. "I'm, uh, not interested," she mumbled, trying to push past Mitani. He grabbed her arm.

"I see, is that why you joined the Host Club? But hey, you can't knock it 'till you try it, right? Whaddaya say?"

Tamaki's warnings broke through Haruhi's naivety just a little too late. "Look, just –" Haruhi tried to pull away, but Mitani's grip tightened and he closed the distance between them.

"Between Suoh starting that club of his and those rumors flying around, no girl will look twice at me anymore. Of course, they're all true, so on the one hand I don't blame them. Now, why don't you –"

"Get away from me, you creep!" Haruhi lifted her bag with her free hand and smacked Mitani in the side.

"Ow! Hey!" Mitani exclaimed, and his hold on her slackened enough for her to slip away. "Come back here!"

Haruhi ran for the door, shoving desks out of her way and at Mitani. When she reached it, however, Haruhi discovered the door was locked, and she couldn't steady her nervous hands long enough to work the knob.

Abandoning her attempt to open the door, Haruhi darted for a closet with the intention of barricading herself inside, only to trip and land painfully on her funnybone. "Help!" she cried instinctively as Mitani loomed over her, a twisted smirk on his face. Before either of them could do anything more, a noise like a gunshot echoed through the room. Mitani's head jerked in the direction of the door and Haruhi sat up, cradling her elbow. The source of the sound was a strange sight indeed – a girl with long, blond hair stood in the doorway, flushed and breathing heavily with one leg slightly extended, the classroom door now on the floor in front of her.

"Sempai!" Haruhi exclaimed with a gasp.

"Haruhi, I heard you yelling, what…?" Tamaki trailed off as he took in the situation, his expression changing to one of murderous fury Haruhi never could have imagined on his normally gentle countenance. Without another word, he stalked toward Mitani and slugged him in the face so hard he staggered backward.

"What the he –" Mitani was cut off as Tamaki kneed him square in the gut, causing him to fall to his knees.

"If you ever so much as look at her again, so help me, I'll…I'll…" Shaking with rage, Tamaki didn't seem to be able to find words terrible enough for what he would do.

"What in the…crazy French lesbian…what's wrong with all the girls at this school?" was all Mitani managed, gasping for breath and nursing his stomach and what would soon be a black eye. Pulling himself unsteadily to his feet, he stumbled out of the room as fast as he could before Tamaki could attack him again. As it was, the blond threw a chair at Mitani for good measure as he left.

Haruhi stood up and brushed herself off. "Sempai –" she started, but Tamaki threw himself at her before she could get any farther, wrapping his arms around her neck and burying his face in her hair. Haruhi could feel his entire body shaking.

"I was heading to your classroom to see if you were still here, and when I heard you call out, and saw Mitani standing over you…I just…I lost it…Haruhi, if anything had happened to you…"

Haruhi blinked slowly, then smiled a little to herself and returned Tamaki's hug. "You didn't have to wait for me," she said, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips. "Thank you."

Tamaki stepped back, holding Haruhi's shoulders and looking her up and down."You're okay?"

"I'm fine."

Tamaki smiled and laughed a little in relief. "Good. That's good." His expression clouded again. "I'll have to inform the rest of the Host Club that Mitani is not to come near Music Room 3 ever again. While I'm at it, we should warn all the girls about him." Turning his attention back to Haruhi, he asked, "Do you need a ride home?"

Haruhi thought about it for a moment. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not," Tamaki replied, leading her out of school and to his waiting car, promising himself he'd never let anything happen to his precious Haruhi as long as he lived.


	9. Coming Into Focus

**A/N: Sorry guys, I want to update more than I'm able to, but this is a busy time of year for me. With luck, I'll be able to finish RRT before Christmas, though. Thanks to everyone for sticking it out with me :)**

The drive back to Haruhi's apartment was long and silent. The brunette spent most of it leaning against the door staring out the window, and Tamaki spent most of it staring at her. He wondered what she was thinking, what she was feeling. His hand twitched, wanting to reach out to her, but he stopped himself. Maybe she'd already moved on and was just thinking about what she was going to have for dinner. Maybe he was more worried about her than she had been about herself in the first place.

As if she could sense Tamaki's inner turmoil, Haruhi shifted in her seat to glance over at him. Tamaki was struck by how pretty she looked in the light of the setting sun and wondered how anyone could mistake her for a boy, and how he had ever believed it himself.

"…maki-sempai?"

Tamaki blinked and shook his head slightly to clear it. Haruhi was looking at him expectantly. "Er, sorry, I was…um, what is it?"

"Just…thank you." Haruhi let out a long sigh, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the cool glass of the car window. "I was afraid that…" she trailed off and shrugged a little.

Tamaki smiled. "I told you I'd never take my eyes off you, didn't I?"

Haruhi met Tamaki's gaze unwaveringly, with an almost calculating look in her brown eyes. Finally, she tipped her head to the side and replied, "Somehow, I find that less disturbing than before."  
Tamaki raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "I'll take what I can get."

Haruhi continued to watch Tamaki with that appraising look in her eyes, as if she were sizing up a bargain at the supermarket…or perhaps he was just stereotyping her. Either way, she seemed to want to say something, but kept silent the rest of the way to her apartment.

"Well, here we are," Tamaki announced unnecessarily as he got out and raced around the car to open Haruhi's door for her.

"Yep," Haruhi agreed, grabbing her bag and climbing out of the limo. Tamaki walked her to her apartment, and she opened the door and stepped inside. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." When Haruhi didn't close the door, Tamaki waited a beat for her to say something else. Answered only with more silence, he said, "All right then, good-bye," and turned to go.

"Wait!"

Tamaki's heart skipped a beat and he faced Haruhi again. "Yes?"

Haruhi hesitated. "Thank you. Again." Mentally beating herself up for not being able to say anything more, she tried to put all the feelings she couldn't voice into the words.

Some of it must have gotten through to Tamaki, because he broke into a warm smile and replied, "I'll always be there for you."

Haruhi returned his smile and waved. "Bye, Sempai."

"Bye, Haruhi." Tamaki trekked back to his car and got in, letting his driver finally take him home. As soon as he arrived, he went up to his room, changed, and hit number 1 on his speed dial. Kyoya picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Kyoya…" Tamaki paused. There was so much to say. He decided to start with the most pressing matter. "Mitani Anno is no longer welcome at the Host Club. He cornered Haruhi in her classroom and…" Tamaki hesitated again. Somehow he didn't want to share what had happened to Haruhi, even though nothing actually _happened_. "Spread the word that girls should be cautious around him."

"I'll get right on that." There was silence on Kyoya's end save for the clacking of computer keys for a few moments. "Anyway, what else is on your mind? I can tell you didn't just call about Mitani."

Tamaki sighed. "Of course you can. You know everything. I suspect that you knew exactly what I'm about to tell you long before I did." He waited for Kyoya to reply, but it looked like he wasn't going to make this easy for him. "Kyoya, I'm an idiot for not realizing sooner. I…I think I love her." It was as if the words had been waiting on the tip of his tongue for ages, but until he spoke them out loud, Tamaki hadn't realized they were there. The concept had been building inside of him since that night at Haruhi's apartment, but almost until the very moment he said it he hadn't dared explore it.

A soft chuckle came from the other end of the line. "You're right, you are an idiot. You're probably the only one who didn't know."

"Wait, so does…does Haruhi know?" Tamaki fretted. Had he been so obvious that Haruhi realized his feelings before he did, and ignored them because she had simply no interest in him?

"It's hard to say exactly what Haruhi knows, given that she's at least as dense as you are. Though I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing at all," Kyoya replied. "Now, you've finally realized how you feel. What are you going to do about it?"

"…do?" Tamaki repeated.

"Were you going to just sit around and hope you'll magically become a couple?"

"Er…" As far as Tamaki was concerned, he had made a huge step just by acknowledging his feelings in the first place. He barely had time to process his emotions, and Kyoya was already asking him what his plan was? "I don't really know."

"Well, if you wait, you're going to miss your chance," Kyoya said.

"What do you mean?"

"Simply that Haruhi can't be a part of the Host Club forever. You know how popular she was at her old school, and between that and the fact you hardly see each other outside of the Host Club…"

"I see your point," Tamaki sighed. "I'll think on it. Thanks, Kyoya."

"Don't mention it," Kyoya replied before hanging up, leaving Tamaki with only his thoughts for company.


	10. The Final Frontier

**A/N: I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! ;_; I just…Christmas…and New Years…and school started…[/excuses] But I'm back on track now, so please (FINALLY!) enjoy Chapter 10!**

"Anne-Sophie, Anne-Sophie!"

Tamaki turned toward the source of the voice as he was leaving the Host Club on Saturday afternoon. "_Oui,_ Kairi?" he asked, smiling at the girl's energy as she chased him down.

"Hey, do you wanna come over and spend the night tonight? I mean, you're going back to France in a few days, so I thought maybe we could hang out before you leave," Kairi offered.

Tamaki cast a quick glance over Kairi's shoulder and saw Kyoya standing a few yards off, a smirk on his face as he nodded his approval. Looked like there'd be no getting out of this one. "Ah, yes, I'd love too," Tamaki replied. "I just need to return home and geet some theengs, and I'll be right over."

"Great!" Kairi said, clapping her hands once. "Oh, Hira and Kurone are coming too. It's gonna be a party!"

"Wonderful," Tamaki agreed half-heartedly. A party indeed.

And so that's how, after going home and stuffing some gender-neutral pajamas and some of the clothes he got at the mall the other day into an overnight bag, Tamaki found himself living most men's dream that was more like a nightmare to him. If he was worried about being labeled a pervert for being in the women's restroom, well, the thought of being found out now was nerve-wracking.

For a while, the four teenagers sat in Kairi's room and gossiped, so Tamaki just sat back and let his lack of knowledge of the girls' lives be his excuse for silence. He learned quite a bit, actually, or at least about which celebrities were hot, and the best places to shop and get coffee. Eventually, though, that got boring and the girls began to question Tamaki.

"So, Anne-Sophie, what's life like in France?" Kairi asked. "I mean, I've travelled there before, but you've spent your whole life there, right?"

"Ah, yes, indeed," Tamaki confirmed. "Well, eet is very deeferent from Japan. Zee fashion, for instance, one might say eet ees much more…ah, conservative, compared to your Harajuku style. Een fact, many things seem quite tame compared to here. It was – I believe zee term is culture shock?" That much was true of when Tamaki had first moved from France, in more ways than one. Thanks to his father's not-quite-accurate descriptions of Japan, Tamaki had assumed he'd see ninja and giant monsters on a daily basis, and people walking around everywhere in kimonos. Despite his expectations being shattered, his paternal home country had offered plenty of surprises, some good, some bad, and some just plain weird.

"Are Frenchmen as romantic as they say?" Hira sighed dreamily.

"Why yes, yes we – er, _they_ are," Tamaki hastily corrected himself, coughing awkwardly.

"Did you have a boyfriend?" Kurone asked.

"I deedn't have much time for dating back een France," Tamaki replied, also truthfully.

"But it looks like you and Haruhi have hit it off quite nicely," Hira said mischievously.

"Ahh, well, I mean, but I don't…" Tamaki trailed off, realizing from the girls' grins and the blush creeping up his face that his argument was far from believable. "I – ahem – I guess that is one way of putting it."

"You like him!" Kairi cried gleefully.

"I – I suppose so," Tamaki admitted. "But, zat ees the point of the Host Club, ees eet not? No beeg deal."

"Yeah, but we're talkin' more than a casual guest here," Hira said. "Like loooove!" She drew out the word melodramatically for effect, waggling her fingers. "And it looks like Haruhi may even be succumbing to your foreign charms."

"Now, I think that's a beet of a stretch," Tamaki argued, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. "Haruhi's a host, so naturally he'd be, ah, friendly?"

"Hey, if it could happen with Kairi and Hikaru…" Kurone said with a shrug.

"It's true," Kairi said with an encouraging smile. "If you really like him, don't give up, and you never know what might happen."

Tamaki pondered the words he'd received about Haruhi, the separate yet similar challenges he'd been issued.

_What are you going to do about it?_

_If you really like him, don't give up._

"You're right." Tamaki returned Kairi's smile. "I'll take matters into my own hands!"

"You go, girl!" Hira cheered.

"This reminds me of my first boyfriend," Kurone interjected suddenly, and the topic shifted as quickly as it had come about. Admittedly not very interested in Kurone's love life, Tamaki's mind wandered to his own situation.

He had only recently realized how he felt towards Haruhi, but he knew her well enough to know that, whatever her feelings were, the longer he waited, the further out of his reach she was likely to drift. He had to act sooner rather than later, or any chance he had with her could be lost forever. Consumed as he was by his inner turmoil, Tamaki hardly even noticed that the conversation had come back around to him, but he brought himself back to the present, where he was a girl, and jumped into the discussion of French pop stars vs. Japanese ones.

Used to a rather early bedtime of 10 p.m. or so, Tamaki could barely keep his eyes open by the time the girls decided to settle in around one in the morning and marathon some drama or another. He didn't want to take any chances, however, that something would happen to reveal his secret while he was asleep, so he forced himself to focus even though he was barely half-awake.

By the time the heroine had gotten together with the romantic lead, who was actually secretly in love with the heroine's best friend, who tragically and, unbeknownst to her friends, had only 6 months to live – not that Tamaki had paid much attention to the plot, and most definitely hadn't cried at all – the girls had finally drifted off to sleep and Tamaki tip-toed past them to the nearest bathroom. Making sure it was locked securely, Tamaki unbuttoned his long-sleeve pajama top and stared at his corset with a frown. "I don't suppose I can risk taking this off while there are other people around," he sighed to himself. Still, he wasn't wild about the idea of wearing it to bed. Deciding to compromise, he loosened the laces enough so that he could at least breathe properly, fixed his shirt, and headed back to the room they were sleeping in.

Kairi, Hira, and Kurone were sort of sprawled on top of each other on the couch, but Tamaki didn't dare try to sleep in the giant dogpile of girls, so he grabbed a pillow and blanket and settled in on the floor. Aside from the obvious discomfort of lying on marble tile, Tamaki found that the large rubber lumps on his chest were rather uncomfortable as well. After nearly an hour of tossing and turning, Tamaki finally managed to fall asleep only to be woken up what felt like moments later.

"Anne-Sophie! Breakfast is ready!" Kairi said in a sing-song voice, nudging Tamaki with her foot. Tamaki sat up blearily, wondering for a moment why he felt ten pounds lighter than when he'd gone to bed – only to look down and realize his corset had come unlaced during the night and shifted so drastically that his assets were now three feet lower on his body than they should have been.

"I – I'll be there in a minute," Tamaki said, pulling his blanket up over his chest and hoping Kairi hadn't seen anything. She just nodded and headed in the direction of the kitchen. Tamaki scrambled to right his chest and ran to the bathroom, locking himself in again. When he let go of the corset, it once again dropped to his waist, where, thankfully, it was still tied well enough to settle. Removing his shirt to get a better handle, Tamaki held the front of the corset to his chest with one hand and tried to retie it with the other. Five minutes of awkward maneuvering later, his fake chest was staying where it should, although it looked a little…droopy. It better than nothing for now, though, so Tamaki changed into day clothes and made do.

Grimacing, he made his way to the kitchen, where the Okano family's private chef was making omelets for everyone. After breakfast, Tamaki was finally able to extract himself from the situation by insisting he was needed back at Suoh Mansion #2 to talk with his "uncle" about possible arrangements for the future.

"Yes, eef I come to Ouran later on I weel need, ah, papers and theengs. Better now zen later, I suppose," Tamaki explained as his chauffer pulled up, right on time. "Ah, zere ees my ride. I must be off. I had a splendeed time!"

"Oh, well, good-bye, Anne-Sophie!" Kairi said, and the others chimed in. "See you at the ball tomorrow night!"

"Yes, see you zen!" Tamaki agreed. He was escorted by a maid to the door and when he was finally alone collapsed in the back seat of his limo. "That was exhausting," he moaned. "I just need to keep this up one more day…"

**A/N: Though it's changing nowadays, typically the school week in Japan is Monday to Saturday. Just in case you were wondering why anyone would be at school on a Saturday. Yup. Kthxbaireviewplz. **


	11. At Last

"Well, Tamaki, tonight is the last night of the bet. You've managed to fool everyone, but you still have yet to win a kiss," Kyoya said, straightening his tie in the reflection of a window in Ouran's large ballroom.

"Yes, I know," Tamaki sighed. He was perched on the windowsill facing Kyoya, swinging his legs and anxiously fluttering a white lace fan about. "I don't think I can bring myself to do it, though."

Satisfied with the placement of his neckwear, Kyoya folded his arms and looked back at Tamaki, taking in his long, pale purple ballgown and the curls piled high on his head. "Well, you look very pretty tonight, it shouldn't be hard."

Tamaki smacked Kyoya in the arm with his fan. "I'm serious! I'm not kissing a boy."

Kyoya rolled his eyes and changed tact. "Well, you've finally realized it, haven't you? How you feel about Haruhi?"

Tamaki blushed, his gaze flickering to the girl in question, who was across the room helping the twins set the last few tables. "Yes, but she doesn't know I exist."

"Tamaki, I'm pretty sure Haruhi knows you exist. I'm pretty sure everyone in the entire world knows you exist, you're hard to miss."

"I don't mean literally, it's just a phrase I picked up from the girls I hang around with. The point is, Haruhi doesn't think of me that way," Tamaki said fretfully.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. Surely even Tamaki would have noticed the way Haruhi had been acting lately? "I wouldn't be so sure of that. And besides, if you don't try, how will you ever know for sure?" Glancing at the large clock on the wall, Kyoya stood the queen of the Host Club up and began shoving him towards the doors. "Now get out! The ball doesn't start for another thirty minutes, and no girl is permitted early entrance."

As Kyoya shut the large doors in Tamaki's face, the blond sighed. Kyoya was right. He had to let Haruhi know how he felt about her, and he was going to do it tonight.

…

As the ball was winding down, Tamaki still hadn't even approached Haruhi. He'd spent most of his time sitting at a table by himself, politely refusing the occasional boy who asked him to dance. A few times, he'd seen Haruhi pass by and tried to call out to her, but couldn't seem to get his voice to work. He was starting to worry that he'd never work up the courage, when Kaoru waltzed by, grinning at him over a girl's shoulder and mouthing _"Three more dances!"_

Tamaki stood straight up, clenching his fists and steeling his resolve. Kaoru had been referring to the bet, as the ball ended at midnight, but at this reminder of how little time there was before Haruhi left, Tamaki was determined not to let her out of the room without knowing how he felt about her. He was a man, despite all appearances, and it was time for him to act like one!

Dodging his way through the crowd, Tamaki finally found Haruhi leaning against a wall, having a snack and absent-mindedly watching the throng of dancers.

"Haruhi, there you are. Dance with me, will you?" He grabbed Haruhi's hand and dragged her onto the dance floor, causing her to drop the fancy tuna she'd been about to try for the first time. He placed his arm around her waist and began dancing in time with the slow song.

Haruhi blushed. "Um, Sempai, your hand goes here, remember? I hope you didn't try that with any guys while you were dancing." She moved Tamaki's hand to her shoulder and set her own on his waist, thinking how weird this was. Pretending to be a boy and dancing with a boy pretending to be a girl was somehow much stranger than pretending to be a boy and dancing with a real girl.

Tamaki laughed. "I didn't dance with any of them. I don't think I have much chance of winning this bet, honestly. I never had any intention of kissing another boy, and I must say, I'm glad this is almost over. It gave me an excuse to dance with you, though, so at least something good came of all this."

Haruhi smiled. "You look very nice tonight, Anne-Sophie."

"And you look beautiful as always, Haruhi," he replied, raising her hand to his lips.

Haruhi felt a swooping in her stomach that had nothing to do with a misstep while dancing. "I, um…"

"Haruhi, I –" But just then the music ended, Tamaki lost his nerve, and the moment was over. The odd couple finished their dance, and, laughing at a joke no one else got, the blond girl curtsied, and the brown-haired boy bowed. Tamaki dragged Haruhi to an empty table as the lights dimmed. He watched the dancers for a while, then finally turned to Haruhi and said, "What is it? You've been staring at me ever since we sat down."

Haruhi tilted her head to the side thoughtfully and replied, "Your hair…I haven't gotten a chance to check, but I've been wondering all week, is it a wig? It looks really real." And with that, curiosity got the best of her and she leaned over and laced her fingers into Tamaki's hair, feeling for the seam of a wig cap. Tamaki turned red.

"Well, that's because it is real. Sort of. I got extensions put in, the same shade of blond as my hair," he explained.

Haruhi's gaze shifted to Tamaki's eyes. "Hm. I see." Her fingers stopped their searching, but didn't leave Tamaki's hair, nor did her eyes leave his.

"Haruhi…" Tamaki started again, not sure exactly how to speak his feelings aloud. His hand moved up and rested on top of Haruhi's free one, his fingers intertwining with hers.

Haruhi studied her upperclassman's face with interest, then smiled, a smile that melted Tamaki's heart and washed away his anxiety. Returning the smile, Tamaki kissed Haruhi's hand again, still searching for the right words.

"Sempai, you missed," Haruhi stated casually.

"Hmm?"

With a "what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you" sigh, Haruhi pulled Tamaki towards her, kissing him full on the lips, sending the lurking fangirls into a jealous frenzy. Oh, if they only knew how crazy this situation really was.

From across the room, Kyoya, dancing with a pretty brunette, caught a glimpse of his plan finally coming to fruition. As the lovebirds broke apart, Haruhi bright pink but smiling, Tamaki looking like it was all he could do to keep himself from bouncing off the walls, Kyoya murmured to himself, "It's about time. I was beginning to think that moron would ruin everything."

"What was that?" asked his partner.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Kyoya spun the girl around a few times, reveling in the satisfaction of a job well done. It had been getting tiring, watching Tamaki and Haruhi both being so ignorant about their own feelings when they were so obvious to everyone else – and, though he'd be loathe to admit it, Kyoya wanted to see his best friend happy. So when the twins had proposed this game, Kyoya gave Tamaki the little nudge he needed to agree, and worked behind the scenes to get them to this point.

And now, finally, everything had fallen neatly into place. Tamaki had gotten the girl, as they say, and, well, so had Haruhi. Tamaki would get his stalker pictures (Kyoya had, after all, never specified that he get another guy to kiss him), but Haruhi would probably make him get rid of them, given that she was the one wearing the pants in this relationship. And with that, since the author ran out of cross-dressing jokes, the clock chimed midnight, and our story came to a perfect shojo ending.

**~FIN~**

**A/N: *sniff* Another story, another ending…so sad. Thanks to everyone who read, favorited, subscribed, or reviewed! If you didn't lose faith in me and have actually been waiting for this story since May, when I finished Ghost Club, or didn't give up during RRT's hiatus…well, kudos to you! I'll try not to keep y'all waiting so long until my next big story, or at least write more one-shots in between to keep you happy. I promise, I've got a lot in the works right now, it's just a matter of picking one idea and bucking down and fine-tuning it to perfection. And with that, I bid you farewell, until we meet again!~**


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